Love that fall is here!

It's been a while...we've been busy!  With the return of the school year and weekends filled with so much to do, we've found no time to share much Luci news.  Today I am home with a sick little Luci and have had a chance to post some pictures from August on the Picasa sight.  The link is to the right.

Luci has been sick a lot since July.  Before we went to Utah in July, Luci had bronchitis.  She got it again in August and now AGAIN! the end of September.  I took her to the doctor today and he decided it is asthma!  She'll be on a steroidal inhaler twice a day for a while.  I'm glad to get this figured out because the poor little thing has been having such a hard time.  Not only did she have bronchitis in August, but she got a stomach flu that lasted over a week.  David and I got it too, but fortunately for us it was only a 24 hour bug.  She was well for about a week and then got a little tummy bug again that she so kindly shared with me.  Getting the call from daycare today to go get her was upsetting but now that she'll be using the inhaler, I am hoping she will be a much happier little girl.

Luci loves to climb!  If you take her to the park, she will quickly be at the top of the play structure.  She climbs the ladder then slides down the slide with a huge grin on her face.  She is signing more words - hungry, bottle, more, please, thank you.  Daycare is teaching her manners!  She talks a whole lot - but I have no clue what she is saying!  She loves the ladies at Noah's Ark, her daycare.  Thank goodness!

We are looking forward to October.  We'll be flying to Newark for Patrick and Amanda's wedding.  We can't wait.  David gets to spend 10 days, but Luci and I only get 4.  Sure do wish we had more time with all of them!

First bite of cake and icing!! More b-day festivities to come...

Eight months - Nine months - no time at all!

 Luci is growing so fast and she keeps us very, very busy.  We have had no time to share stories and photos with all of you.  Some fast stats - her head is HUGE!  She just had her nine month appointment and the nurse measured her head, left to get the %tiles, came back and said "Let me measure one more time.  It seems a little big."  Uh - no - that's right - she got the big noggin' straight from her mom and her dad.

Luci now has 6 teeth - they just keep popping out.  She's clapping her hands - and what a sweet little sound that is.  She's saying "dadadadada" and "mamamama" a lot and knows exactly who she is talking about.  Luci continues to be an amazing sleeper.  She is standing for up to 10 seconds without holding on to anything - so close to walking!

She loves to be outside, playing in the grass.  We went to Arcata, CA this past weekend and she thought the beach/sand was so cool.  We really let her play in it this time - unlike the past.  She loves for you to chase her around, sing songs, make funny faces, and just entertain her til her hearts content.  Our hearts are filled with love for our sweet little Luci.

Luci and Elmo

This picture cracks us up!  Luci has an Elmo Live that tells jokes, dances, falls down, etc.  She isn't quite in to it yet.  When our 2 year old friends come over - they totally dig Elmo.  We'll give her some time!

SEVEN Months!

Luci is now 7 months old!  In the last month she has grown so much.  She has finally, to her delight, started to crawl.  This process was so fun for us to watch.  Luci has known how to roll over for a long time, but this was never what she did to get to the things she wanted.  She really just wanted to crawl.  She was getting really frustrated with not being able to do it.  In the last month she transitioned from being on her hands and knees then laying back on her belly to being on hands and knees and then to sitting up.  For about a week she was getting to all her toys by getting on her hands/knees, rocking then sitting up, then slight turn and back through the cycle until she got to what she wanted.  Her first "real" crawl probably happened on St. Patrick's Day.  Now she is all over the place and we've got to baby proof this place!  We've also got to keep a good eye on her.  She has been crawling over to the couch and the coffee table this week and then pulling herself up to standing.  A couple times now she has bonked her head pretty good.  Today she's got a nice pink shiner from hitting the coffee table.  She's super fast and we can't always catch her!

We spent the weekend at the coast.  It rained a lot, but we did get to take some nice walks on the beach.  Luci got her first fist-full of sand in her mouth and didn't seem to mind it at all.  Next time we go to the beach we are hoping she will be able to actually play in the sand - hoping it won't be as cold and wet as this week.

We love this little Luci so much.  She is so proud of herself when she is sitting up and even standing up in bed when we go to get her from her nap.  She can be quite serious and take it all in but she always seems to have the biggest smile for those who greet her.  And of course when she does that - it just melts their hearts.

Luci is looking forward to spending some time with both of her grandmas in the next few weeks.  They think they are coming for a vacation - but little do they know - she's got other plans for them!

PS - just have to say last night Luci went to bed at 7pm and this morning when David heard her stirring at 6:15, he ran in her room and gave her a pacifier and she went back to sleep until 8am!  Did we hit the jackpot or what with this sweet little thing!

SIX Months!

Wow!  Time sure does fly.  I can't believe Luci is now 6 months old.  Look at her - isn't she such a beauty!  She is such a wonderful addition to our family.  Every night we go to bed talking about how amazing she is and how much we love her!  The picture to the left is from her 6 month day and also Wylie's birthday party.  She got all dressed up in a party dress, tights, and shiny shoes.  I can't believe how well she sits up and takes it all in!

Luci continues to be the greatest sleeper.  Sometimes sleeping over 12 hours at night!  She's on a great schedule that we hope will continue when she starts daycare next month.  In the morning and after naps, she always greets us with her little head poking up above the crib railing with the biggest grin.  David has really enjoyed being home with her, and if there was any way we could swing it - he would stay home with her until summer.  Of course, my preference would be for ME to be home with her!

  
Anyway - Luci is rocking on her hands and knees but not crawling.  Instead she is rotating her body when she is on her belly to try and reach toys.    Lately she has been blowing raspberries on our arms, which is quite entertaining.  She loves to bounce and go on daily walks with dad.  When it's not raining she really enjoys the swing her grandma sent her.  She is getting better at eating - opening her little mouth in the cutest little "O" to let the spoon in.  She's eating avocado, sweet potato, bananas, pears, and rice cereal.  We sometimes give her a MumMum cookie or a couple of cheerio-like treats to feed herself while we are eating dinner.  She has quite the appetite and barely spills any food!  She enjoys sitting in her walker.  She is less frustrated in it because she can see and play with toys.  When the cats walk by, she tries to reach out and get them.  They have been very patient with her and seem to like her.  Luci loves to take baths.  She just kicks and kicks in the tub.  She really enjoys the bathtime book that Troy, Amanda, and Henry gave her, especially the part of the book where the bath water splashes all over her :)

FIVE Months!

Luci is now 5 months old!  We started her on some rice cereal last weekend and then moved on to sweet potatoes this week.  She is getting better each day at using the spoon and gobbles up whatever we give her.


Today we noticed the beginning of a tooth poking out.  There is a sharp little spot on her lower gum.  This might explain her rough nights the last couple of days.  Waking every couple of hours, wanting her pacifier.  Twice now we have gone in there because she was SCREAMING to find her rolled over on her belly.  She used to know how to roll back, but somehow has forgotten.  Now she just lays there on her belly with her arms and legs flailing...a little like me doing pilates! 

We think she is just going to skip crawling and be a scooter.  She wants to sit up so bad and has been working on her abs for a few weeks now.  She will sit for a bit (especially on the soft bed) but eventually tumbles one way or the other.  Today we went over to Angela's to play.  Wylie entertained her with his cool dancing moves.  She loved that!  Luci just wanted to bounce, bounce, bounce while Wylie danced all around.  She and Maggie don't always have the same nap schedule, so they only got to play for just a bit.  Maggie is moving so much and once Luci gets the hang of it, those two will be getting in to everything.

Happy New Year!

Wow!  It has been quite a month.  Luci is growing so much and learning new things every day.  This last month she learned to roll completely over!  She has discovered her toes and loves to reach for them and pull her socks off.  She continues to give us lots of sweet smiles and be the perfect little baby.  Mommy went back to work and Daddy now stays home.  Luci took the transition - no problemo!  Daddy and Luci have so much fun together every day - playing, going on walks, and visiting Mommy at lunch every day. 



We spent two weeks in Florida for Christmas.  While there, Luci took her first boat ride, met her great-grandparents, cousin Brittany, and Uncle Lyle, slept in a motorhome, learned how to take naps in bed instead of the swing, met tiny little doggies who gave her lots of attention, sat in Santa's lap, and enjoyed all of the attention her Florida family gave her.  

Another highlight of our trip - getting to see Troy, Amanda, and Henry.  They were visiting Disney World all the way from Maine, so we took a day to go up and see them.  I guess Maine is closer to Florida than Oregon!




She was very good on the plane, especially riding in the Ergo baby carrier we got for Christmas.  Jet lag was just a little problem once we returned to Oregon.  She was waking up every 2 hours once we got back, but now 6 days later she is back to sleeping 11 hours at night.  In another week, we are going to try out rice cereal.  We think she will do just fine because she loves to sit with us at dinner and watch while we eat.

For the grandmas - make sure you check out all the pictures on the Picasa website.  Link is on this page!